Musings about game's future, from whimsical to technical

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, January 2, 2000

IF THE CRUEL and beautiful game of football survives well into the 2 1st century, what might it look like? Robot linemen?

Seven-foot wide receivers? Two balls in play instead of one, with 18 players to a side?

Considering all the change the game has seen since the grainy days of Red Grange, what in the world (or out of this world) will football be like in, say, 2050?

The question was posed to a number of 49ers as they completed their last practice session of the year/decade/century/millennium and let's hear no nonsense about 2001 being the official start of the 21st century and the new millennium; as we all know, 2001 will be devoted to a year-long revival of Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey."

"It can't get any tougher on a DB," strong safety Tim McDonald said. "They either throw a flag on you or you get a letter in the mail saying you're being fined."

McDonald's bitterness spawned a fascinating future concept:

"They're probably going to have a force field that goes up around the quarterback as he receives the ball. When you come close to him, it knocks you out."

Defensive tackle Junior Bryant agreed with McDonald's theory, saying, "I like the force field. Pretty soon the defense won't be able to hit anybody. Maybe they'll go to touch football . . .. I definitely see the quarterbacks wearing pink vests, like they wear in practice. You can barely touch them without getting penalized. They're like a super elite."

On the flip side of whimsy, players envisioned technology improving equipment, especially helmets, and communication as well as human physiology.

Tackle Dave Fiore likes our pet theory that in the future, if football survives, players will have artificial knee ligaments installed as a matter of course, made of as-yet undeveloped material impervious to abuse.

"Maybe some medicine will help the healing process increase," Fiore said. "Definitely something to heal head trauma. Maybe a protective helmet that's better than we have."

That's been a topic of conversation among the offensive linemen, who bang heads for 60 plays a game. Center Chris Dalman said the kind of helmets auto racers wear might be the answer, at least for quarterbacks. Dalman follows auto racing because his favorite driver, Ernie Irvan (now retired), is a fellow Salinas native.

"Football helmets have stayed the same for years," Dalman said. "When I played Pop Warner, we had the same kind of helmet. You have race car drivers run into a wall at 200 miles an hour and there are no concussions. There are 200 reported concussions a year in the NFL."

On a historical note, Dalman said, "Before face masks, nobody tackled with their head. It was like rugby."

Linebacker Ken Norton said Future Football will have helmets far in advance of today's models. "Maybe there'd be a way to talk to all the players," he said. "The game will be more electronic. Instead of the coach signaling in the play, it will be on a computer and you'll see it in front of your face. It's all about communication."

Bryant said he sees the day players will be able to download game video onto their laptop computers at home instead of lugging tapes around. That day is just around the corner. The pink vests may take awhile.

Stat of the year

Watch out for the Tennessee Titans in the playoffs. They are 3-0 against playoff-bound Jacksonville and St. Louis. The rest of the league is 1-26 against the Jags and Rams.

Quote of the week

"He's almost like the kid that stumbled through the wrong door and got into the game for free."

for the NFC playoffs by outscoring teams by 24 points per game at the Trans World Dome. . . . It took a licking by Giants coach Jim Fassel to get WR Amani Toomer ticking. Fassel essentially told the De La Salle product that he was worthless and weak, so drop and give me 20! Toomer applied himself in the offseason and came through with 77 catches for 1,148 yards with a game left. In 1997 Toomer had only 16 receptions and that had Fassel questioning his ability. . . . No Cardinals defensive player has ever led the league in sacks but Simeon Rice (141/2 ) trails Rams DE Kevin Carter (15) by a half-sack, which can be either "sa" or "ck" . . . The Rams have a positive point differential this season of 291, having scored 495 points to their opponents' 204. The point differential record is 292 by the 1942 Chicago Bears. . . . In the 1990's, the decade that just was, the Bengals won 52 and lost 107 under the misdirection of Bruce Coslet, David Shula and Sam Wyche. That begs the question, does it even matter who the head coach is? . . . In Carolina, backup QB Jeff Lewis is scheduled to receive a $2.7 million bonus if the Panthers decide to keep him rather than make him an unrestricted free agent. Lewis would rather the team spend the money on WR Muhsin Muhammad. "I would not feel right at all taking that money," Lewis said. "It's just not my style." It would seem stupidity never goes out of style. . . . For all the injuries he's had this season, Saints RB Ricky Williams can call himself a 1,000-yard rusher if he gains 123 yards Sunday against Carolina. The Saints have not had a 1,000-yard rusher since Dalton Hilliard in 1989. . . . Here's a head-scratcher from Iron Deficient Mike Ditka, talking about QB Jake Delhomme's encouraging debut in the win over Dallas: "I think you've got to realize a game is a game and another game will be another game." Can't argue with that. . . . The Cowboys have lost seven games in a row on the road. . . . Curtis Enis is gradually playing himself out of Chicago. He averaged only 3.2 yards per carry this season, with a long run of 19 yards. . . . Only three NFL teams have not had a 100-yard rusher -

Chicago, Cleveland and San Diego. . . . The Lions may have lost three in a row to back into the playoffs, but they have defeated the four NFC teams seeded ahead of them in the playoffs - St. Louis, Washington, Tampa Bay and Minnesota. Still, Detroit is 1-8 in the postseason since winning the 1957 NFL championship. . . . In their three-game losing streak, the Lions called exactly two running plays in the fourth quarter - for a minus-2 yards. . . . Ho, hum. The Packers signed former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL bust Rashaan Salaam this week. . . . After throwing the first touchdown pass of his career, full-of-himself Randy Moss of the Vikings said, "In a couple of years I could be as accurate as any quarterback in the league." Moss became the first Vikings WR in franchise history to throw a TD pass. . . . Considered a pariah before this season, Jeff George is 7-2 as Minnesota's starting QB. . . . Once again, this stat becomes relevant: Tampa Bay is 0-17 in games when the temperature dips below 40 degrees. The Bucs finish the regular season in Chicago. &lt;